1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a clip to be mounted on a member such as a panel on which the clip is to be mounted by inserting the clip into a mounting hole thereof. For example, the present invention relates to a clip suitable for mounting a long member such as a wire harness held thereby on the member on which the clip is to be mounted.
2. Description of the Related Art
An example of a clip which is suitable for holding a long member such as a wire harness and mounting the long member held thereby on a member such as a panel on which the clip is to be mounted is described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-072123. The clip has the band and the buckle formed on the main body thereof and is capable of holding the wire harness around which the band is wound. A locking claw which is inserted into a mounting hole of the member on which the clip is to be mounted and locked to the mounting hole is formed on the fixing part integral with the main body. By inserting the fixing part into the mounting hole of the member on which the clip is to be mounted, the clip is mounted on the member. The fixing part is so formed as to have a rectangular contour having a pair of long sides and a pair of short sides in its cross section to prevent the clip from being shaken relative to the member on which the clip is to be mounted. The locking claws are formed at the long side of the fixing part in such a way that in the cross section of the fixing part, one of the locking claws is disposed diagonally to the other locking claw to facilitate molding.
In the clip of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-072123, after the clip is mounted on the mounting hole of the member on which the clip is to be mounted, the force of locking the fixing part to the mounting hole depends on only the locking force of the locking claw. Therefore there is room for improvement.
In the clip described in Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 51-005933, the front end of a pair of the anchor leg-shaped locking claws forming the fixing part is connected to the column portion disposed at the center in the fixing part with the flexible connection piece in such a way that the open degree of both locking claws is restricted to a certain range. Thereby the anchor leg-shaped locking claws are prevented from opening excessively. The clip does not have a construction of increasing the locking force of the locking claws.
Each of the clips described in Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 3-030682 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-142730 has a construction in which after the clip is mounted on the member on which the clip is to be mounted by inserting the fixing part into the mounting hole of the member on which the clip is to be mounted and by locking the locking claw to the edge of the mounting hole, the clip can be removed from the member on which the clip has been mounted without damaging the locking claw. In the clip of Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 3-030682, the front ends of a pair of the anchor leg-shaped locking claws are connected to each other with the band-shaped piece. To unlock the edge of the mounting hole from the locking claws, the band-shaped piece is pressed into the mounting hole by means of the front end of the tool. As a result, the front ends of a pair of the locking claws approach to each other. Thereby the edge of the mounting hole is unlocked from the locking claws. In the clip of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-142730, the tubular part into which the front end of the tool can be inserted is provided at a portion intermediate between a pair of the locking claws. The tubular part is connected to the front ends of both locking claws with the band-shaped piece. When the tubular part is rotated by inserting the front end of the tool thereinto, both locking claws flex inward. Thereby the edge of the mounting hole is unlocked from the locking claws. Although the clip has the connection piece for unlocking the edge of the mounting hole from the locking claws, the clip does not have a construction of increasing the locking force of the locking claws.
Therefore it is an object of the present invention to increase the locking force of an elastic locking claw of a fixing part of a clip to be inserted into a mounting hole of a member on which the clip is to be mounted.